


Loki and the Spider

by Capsiclegirl



Category: Avengers (Comics), Spiderman - Fandom, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Blood, Bucky has a medical phobia, Gay Characters, Graphic surgery, Hurt/Comfort, I'm kinda a sucker for Bucky Barnes, Improper Chest Binding, Irondad, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, Language, Mentions of Top surgery, Protective Loki, Sickfic, Trans Male Character, Transgender Peter Parker, gender fluid Loki, mentions of sexuality, pain killers don't work on super metabolisms, problems with packers, testosterone shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:54:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24319159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Capsiclegirl/pseuds/Capsiclegirl
Summary: Loki is doing community service on earth as an Avenger. Figuring that the job will be dull, Loki is surprised to find a companion in a certain kid spider. After a mission gone wrong, however, Loki finds that this boy means a lot more to him than he could have ever realized.
Relationships: Pepper/Tony, Steve/Bucky
Comments: 8
Kudos: 199





	Loki and the Spider

**Author's Note:**

> So... I'm bored. I am still working on my Game of Thrones fics, I promise. But I decided to actually do something Marvel related, since my name is Capsiclegirl. Somehow I wound up writing a fic about a weird dream I had after reading an article about a guy who had open heart surgery without painkillers. 
> 
> https://www.cracked.com/personal-experiences-1604-major-surgery-with-no-painkillers-5-things-i-learned.html
> 
> I realize that a lot of people post fics about injuries leading to outing, and binders being cut, but this just keeps floating in my head. I am kinda a sucker for Lady Loki, like a lot. Also love the idea of Peter as transgender representation in the Marvel universe.
> 
> I wanted to write something that wasn't GoT because I have become such a sad girl. This didn't help. Enjoy

Loki had moved into Avengers Tower on a trial basis, agreeing that ‘community service’ for a few hundred years would more than pay his debt to society. SHIELD monitored closely, but with Thor there to keep watch, it was a lot more hands off than anyone had ever expected.

He had found it pleasant enough, the human facilities were adequate, what with Stark’s immense wealth, and he was finding there were many aspects of earth culture that he actually quite liked.

Support groups, for one. Asgardian culture tended to be based around strength, not so much on taking care of emotions. So a few times a week, Loki would go to support groups, one for ex-cons, one for those grieving a loss, and one for non-earth beings who lived on earth.

He also liked Asian food, he found, becoming a regular at several restaurants in Chinatown. He also liked to wind down at spas there as well, getting messages and acupuncture regularly. He enjoyed their parades and festivals quite immensely. He studied Mandarin, Korean, and Japanese. Loki felt a kind of kinship with many of the residents in Flushing, away from home and having to build a tiny island of their own culture in a sea of otherness.

Loki also found clubbing, specifically gay club culture, to be downright delicious. He loved the variety, dark rooms, with panting and anonymous groping. Raves, with hallucinogens and sweaty guys dancing to throbbing music. Lesbian biker bars, with gorgeous butch women who could hold their own, and their liquor. Tamer fair, a cocktail at the bar, karaoke, pick ups. Even leather bars, with old guard and new and the culture that came with them. After a night at one of these, he would do nothing to hide how he winced when sitting down.

The other Avengers slowly grew on him, too. Sure, they were simple earth beings, but their tenacity was somewhat admirable. Natasha’s interrogation skills were impressive, and Bruce’s work in nuclear physics was fascinating to ask about. He even started to find Captain America’s loyalty and devotion endearing, after a time. Although he wouldn’t admit it, the image of him and his boyfriend Bucky was a permanent resident of the god’s fantasies when he needed to be alone.

Things were actually quite nice, Loki found. Sure, he startled the team the first time he appeared to them as female, and wound up adding a transgender support group to his weekly schedule, and they had to set boundaries when he would have a gentleman or lady caller over. There were also regular check ins if out for a long time and activity reports. But he still found himself falling in love with earth, in his own way. Despite this, he kept his distance, to an extent, not wanting to become too emotionally attached to these earth beings and their short lives.

Then everything changed when a certain spider came to live with them at Avengers Tower.

“So you’re Loki? You’re here on probation, right?” asked the young boy, beaming at Loki with bright, curious eyes.

“Yes, and I must ask, how old are you, earth boy, seven?” sneered Loki, looking up from above his book. He had been enjoying an earth novel and a glass of wine, when the young boy had practically sprang into the room.

“I um…. I’m fifteen,” he mumbled, backing up from Loki, looking down at his feet, shyly.

“I see,” he said, eyeing Peter Parker with an annoyed expression. “As you can see, Mr. fifteen, I’m trying to read this terribly amusing earth comedy The Grapes of Wrath.”

“That’s not a comedy,” ventured Peter, slowly backing up.

“It’s not, oh, well I guess that would make it less amusing, then,” sighed Loki as he closed the book and reached for his glass of wine. However, the alarms sounded, some such invaders wanting to take over the world or a giant monster rampage no doubt.

“Well, it seems duty calls,” sighed Loki, standing up and walking past Peter, ruffling his hair as he went.

It had been an alien invasion, again. He had to use his ability to create a double to sneak into the ship to find out where the main computers were so that they could to stopped from signaling for backup while Stark took out the main weapons, Captain, Bucky and Hulk taking care of escapees and renegades that were preying on civilians. All in all, a pretty clean job, what with the aliens having landed in a park. Minor property damage, and very few casualties.

“I’m just saying, if you want to justify the property damage that normally occurs with these events, I would suggest leaving one unchecked until the local authorities realize on their own that they are out of their league,” sighed Loki, standing behind Captain America during a police debriefing afterwards.

“Yeah, we’re not doing that,” said Bucky, watching Loki carefully. Bucky had always been suspicious of their new recruit, knowing that he made the team look bad enough.

Once the debriefing was over, Loki once again submitted himself to the indignities of a mandatory examination, something which he was always sullen and silent for.

He caught Bucky’s eyes this time, however, as he sat shirtless and stoic while Dr. Cho looked at a cut above his left eye.

“I have a healing factor. Won’t even scar,” he said, leaning away from her gloved hand as she tried to wipe at it with an alcohol swab. It was known by everyone present that Bucky hated medical settings and doctors due to having been experimented on for so many years. The mandatory post mission exams were almost the breaking point in his choice to go back into the field. He wanted to redeem himself, though, so in the end, Bucky had agreed.

Loki knew all of this, and the look he and Bucky shared was one of sympathy, and then Loki rolled his eyes, making up his mind.

“Oh oww, my shoulder. Oh, Dr. Cho,” he winced, exaggerating the pain of his bruised shoulder.

Dr Cho turned from Bucky, motioning to him that he could go, the soldier hopping down from the exam table and putting his shirt back on. He turned and looked again at Loki before leaving the med bay, their eyes meeting briefly. _Thanks_ was the message in that one look from Bucky, the terse grin Loki returned replying _don’t mention it._

When he finally got out of there, that Parker boy was waiting for him, excited to know about the battle. He wasn’t allowed to come due to still being there on a provisional basis, focusing more on street crime until he was promoted to full Avenger.

Loki just gazed at him, tired, giving him a forced smile and then turned to the elevator, stepping on and heading up to his quarters, exhausted.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You can shapeshift?” were the words that greeted her the next morning, Loki looking up startled and spilling coffee on the kitchen counter. She set down her mug and the coffee pot, taking a deep breath to keep herself calm.

This morning, she had woken up as she, her body changing on it’s own with the feelings that came with it. Yes, she could shapeshift at will, but sometimes the sense of who she was would cause the shift on it’s own. So this morning, she walked downstairs in her silk robe as Lady Loki, not giving it much thought since the rest of the Avengers were used to it.

“Yes, Mr Parker. I have that ability. Also, I sometimes feel uncomfortable in my male form and prefer presenting and acting feminine,” said the goddess, wiping up the spilled coffee and then adding some half n half to her mug.

Peter’s eyes were wide as saucers as he gazed at Lady Loki, who was now practically inhaling the brew. Another nice thing from earth, coffee. Loki sat at the table and acted pleasantly enough, enjoying her third mug by the time all of the other Avengers had come down for breakfast. Loki made an effort to ignore the boy’s curious eyes.

It had been a couple of weeks into Peter Parker living with them, when the boy first sought him out for help. Loki had gone back and forth between his forms a couple of times, and had even gone on a mission as Lady Loki, resulting in fan letters apparently from transgender fans.

Peter had mostly kept his distance, trying not to fanboy out too much, despite asking occasional questions about Asgard or life as a Villain or whatever popped into his head, really.

But this day, Peter had been shut in his quarters for hours, not letting anyone in. Tony was out and couldn’t override the privacy protocol Peter had set up, and Steve, Natasha, and Bruce all stood outside of his room, letting him know that whatever was wrong, they could help. None could get through to him, until JARVIS announced that Peter wanted to speak with Loki in his room.

Loki was mildly surprised by the request, but upon hearing the A.I’s pronouncement, he rose up, walking with languide steps toward Parker’s quarters.

“Why would he want Loki?” was the question Steve was asking, when Loki materialized behind him, grinning.

“Why wouldn’t the youth? JARVIS,” he said, stepping inside swiftly, the doors closing behind him.

Peter was sitting in a chair, wearing a white t-shirt and a pair of boxer shorts. Loki raised his brows at the sight of the boy, unsure, until he noticed the bottle and syringe on the bed.

“Please, I can’t do it myself,” stated Peter, softly, unable to look up.

“Can’t do what, my boy?” asked Loki, getting down on one knee.

“Aunt May usually does my shot, but she’s out with Happy for the weekend and Dr. Cho is at a conference. I told her that I could do it myself, but I just… I’ve been sitting here for hours,” he said, looking away, trying to keep from crying.

“Why do you want me to do it? What is this shot for?” asked Loki, picking up the bottle, curiously.

“You know how you’re sometimes a lady, and your body changes to match? Well, I’m a boy, but my body doesn’t exactly match how I feel. I take a shot every week to help correct that, among other things,” he said, tears started to fall in earnest.

“I see. Do the rest of the team know?” asked Loki, touching the boy’s chin gently. At this Peter shook his head no, sniffling a bit.

“It’s different with you. You’re magic, and you’re powerful,” he said, wiping his nose, sadly.

“Very well. If you are not comfortable with them knowing, I will not betray your trust. Now, how do I do this ‘shot?’

Peter smiled and picked up the syringe, sticking the needle into the bottle and pulling in the correct amount, and then lowered his boxers enough to expose his hip, which he swabbed with alcohol. He talked Loki through giving him the shot, biting his lip and hissing at the feel of the needle, but then smiled when Loki patted the back of his head, giving him a rare, genuine smile.

“There’s a support group for people like you and I, been attending for the company. It's tonight, if you would like to go together,” said Loki, pulling a card from his pocket and giving it to Peter.

The other Avengers were relieved when the door opened and the two emerged, Peter fully dressed now, and ready for lunch. Although each took Loki aside to try and find out what had happened between them, Loki always simply said that he would not betray the boy’s confidence

That evening was the first time that Peter went to a transgender support group, with Loki at his side. It wasn’t anything fancy, a school gymnasium and fold out chairs, cookies and coffee and lemonade, but Peter was so happy, sitting by Loki’s side, feeling at home with him there.

They attended once a week, and aside from this, things stayed mostly the same. Peter even tried harder to leave Loki in peace, to not constantly be shadowing behind or asking badgering questions. Loki liked this shift in things, despite the other Avengers being suspicious and unsure about their weekly outings.

There were other small incidents, Loki helping Peter find a packer that fit and looked right.

“The one you’re wearing would look too large on one of your porn stars. Come, we will get you a prosthetic that will look better.”

It had been awkward enough trying to convince Loki that they first had to search online to find a specialty store, and to get Loki a bank account so that he could trade his gold for earth money. It was even worse that Loki was female at the time, and the whole thing left Peter a ruffled, embarrassed, if not better passing, mess.

When Peter finally had enough facial hair to justify shaving, Loki let Tony teach him how, not interfering with their father/son like interactions. However, afterwards he swooped in and took the boy to a professional barber and got him a nice, old fashioned straight razor shave.

One day Loki noticed Peter was having rib pain after a battle. The boy was good at hiding pain, not giving Dr. Cho any indication that he was hurting, but when the two left the med bay, Peter slumped against the wall, grasping at his sides.

“My room, now,” he said, leading Peter toward the elevators. Once in his quarters, he sat him in a chair, looking down at Peter.

“Take your shirt off,” he said, firm yet gentle, not giving any room for argument.

Peter looked up at him pleadingly, but then turned his face down and pulled off his shirt. His cheeks were flushed red as he looked down, and Loki touched his chin, ever gentle.

“Peter, what is this?” he asked, touching the medical bandaging which tightly bound his chest.

“I outgrew my old binder,” he muttered, looking away, tears welling up in his eyes.

Loki didn’t say anything, just stood up, turning toward a dresser drawer and pulling out a sports bra.

“I wear these when training as my better half. Take off those bandages and put this on. We’re about the same size.”

Peter silently unraveled the bandages, gasping for breath as they fell off.

He covered his chest with his arms, biting his lip in embarrassment as Loki looked at the bruises which encircled his chest.

“You’re not doing this again,” said Loki, looking at him seriously.

“I’m sorry, but they got bigger and my binder tore along the seams. I didn’t have time to get a new one with school and Avenger training,” he said, picking up the sports bra and trying to slip into it without lifting his arms.

Loki turned and gave him some privacy while he put on the sports bra, and then the t-shirt.

“Come on, we’re getting you a new binder now,” he said, patting him on the shoulder. Peter stood up, excited, but Loki gave him a harsh look. “If I ever find out that you are improperly binding again, I will tell your aunt.”

They went to several stores, not just buying binders, but a whole bunch of new shirts for Peter. When they were done, Loki took him to get bibimbap from a Korean place, and then went to a local book shop. All in all, they spent the whole day together.

It was so much fun that Peter barely sulked when Loki informed him that he would be stuck in sports bras for a few days while his chest healed. He made sure to wear several layers, and no one seemed to notice.

Things were okay, Peter thought. Loki was doing his best to be a good friend, in his own stubborn way. They went to support groups and hung out outside of training exercises and missions. However, over time, Loki started suggesting to Peter that he should come out to the other Avengers. Peter generally ignored this, laughing it off and saying there was no way. Loki mostly let it go, but when they were alone, dealing with some trans issue or another, He would remind Peter that coming out would make things easier.

“I know,” muttered Peter one of these times, looking sadly at the paperwork before him. He could have chest surgery, for twenty-thousand dollars. Loki knew that Peter didn’t want to ask Tony. So he sat with him, looking at the paperwork with him.

“Why don’t you tell him?” asked Loki, careful, as if trying not to scar Peter off.

Peter just shook his head. “I don’t want them to look at me differently.”

“Peter, some of them will, but most won’t. Those who do change how they see you, will answer to me,” said Loki, patting Peter’s shoulder.

“Look, I just want to enjoy having them see me as Spiderman, as Peter, not as their transgender team mate, for just a bit longer. Besides, Tony treats me like his son. I… I don’t want that to change. Please, I’ll come out to them, I just need more time to enjoy this,” he said, giving Loki that heartfelt look that the trickster god could never refuse.

“Very well, but know that they will find out, sooner or later,” he said, worried for his young friend.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It happened while out dealing with a major bank robbery which had turned into a hostage situation. The robbers had tried to keep together, the hostages lined up to be easily dispatched if they needed to. Fortunately for the hostages, a few good illusions from Loki, and the robbers had scattered.

Captain America was rescuing the hostages, Natasha was interrogating their apprehended leader, wanting to find out if they were part of some bigger crime ring, and everyone else was searching the area for any of the robbers who had taken off.

Peter was on top of a nearby building, keeping lookout when he saw one of the robbers, and he made a chase, web slinging to keep up with him. He swung around a building and shot a web at the guy, pinning him down.

“Got one of them, Mr. Stark,” he said as he turned, not realizing that the guy could still reach his gun.

“Great job, underoos. Just pay attention and get back to your spot,” Tony replied through his earpiece.

While they were having this conversation, the pain in his shoulder hadn’t even registered yet.. Mostly, it was just a sting and a sudden worry that his suite had gotten caught on something. But then Peter started to feel faint and looked down to see a dark stain spreading over the blue of his shoulder. “He guys, I think I’m hit,” he said into the headpiece built into the suite, but the baby monitor was already sounding and one of the drone suites was making its way toward the boy. However, Peter had begun to feel himself slipping from his webbing, and due to the dizziness and blood loss, he slammed into the side of the building he had been aiming toward, and then sliding down before he started falling to the pavement The last thing he remembered before passing out was the thud of hitting the ground.

Peter woke up to bright lights being shined in his eyes as he was being wheeled on a gurney, being pushed through the doors of the medical wing of Avengers’ Tower. “He’s losing blood fast.”

“Doctor Cho!”

“Get him a liter of whole blood, A+.”

The light was too bright and too much was happening all around him at once. He felt himself being moved onto an exam table as the older Avengers stood over him. He caught the worried look of Tony Stark, the first clear thing he could focus on.

“Mmmr. Stark?” he murmured, becoming more alert.

“Shhhhh, don’t talk, kid. You’ve been shot, and you hit a building, and then the ground. All in all a pretty bad afternoon,” responded the billionaire, trying to use humor but obviously pale with fear

Shot, he realized. He was shot. Dr. Cho was approaching on one side and Dr. Banner on the other.

“We need to get the suit off of him. Dr. Banner?” asked Dr. Cho, gloving up.

Bruce grabbed a pair of medical scissors and went to cut through the suit, and Peter started to tear up as he realized what was about to happen.

“Kid, you’re bleeding, let him cut it off. We’ll work on it later in the lab. Promise.”

“Not that,” moaned Peter, shaking his head. “You don’t know…Please don’t,” he looked worriedly at Doctor Cho, the only one there aside from Loki and Aunt May who knew that he was trans.

While this exchange was going on, Bruce stood by helplessly, confused, and Dr. Cho managed to get an IV in his other arm.

Bruce hesitated but cut through the suit, frowning at the sight of the tight garment beneath it. He proceeded to cut through that as well, opening it up and exposing his chest. No one said anything as Dr. Banner starting getting a better look at the area, more concerned about the massive bullet entry wound and blood still guzzling from it. Dr. Cho began cleaning debris from the wound, murmuring calmingly to Peter as she worked.

Tony just stood there, guilt and horror filling his features at the sight of this kid getting treated. It wasn’t just the wound, though. It was the look of sheer shame that painted Peter’s face, an empty look interrupted by an occasional wince.

“Jesus,” Tony kept muttering, ruffling Peter’s hair back and trying to not look.

Meanwhile, Bruce brought out a syringe full of a strong painkiller.

“It won’t work,” stated Peter futilely.

“What do you mean, it won’t work?” asked Bruce.

“I’ve been injured before, painkillers don’t work on me very well.”

“You metabolize them too fast?” asked Dr. Cho, holding up her gloved hands and trying her best to clean the area without touching the wound too much.

“Okay, well we need to check inside the entry wound for Shrapnel and internal damage, so if we can’t give him a local, we need to hold him down.”

“What?” was all Tony could say, lost for words at this.

“We can’t sedate him properly since there’s no anesthesiologist at the tower. We need to look for damaged blood vessels”-”just do it!” yelled Peter, interrupting Bruce.

Before Tony could stop them, JARVIS had summoned Thor and Bucky, neither of whom made any comment about Peter’s state, just following orders. Thor held down Peter’s legs, while Bucky was holding him by the shoulders.

“Peter, it’s okay to scream. Just say whatever comes to mind,” Bucky was saying, knowing what this was like. He hadn’t gotten much in the way of pain relief while being experimented on by HYDRA.

Peter gripped the table with one hand, and wordlessly, Tony took Peter’s other hand. Drs. Cho and Banner started cleaning the area and then Dr. Banner stuck a blunt instrument inside the small wound and Peter threw his head back and started rising off the table trying not to scream. He squeezed Tony’s hand and gritted his teeth, keeping his eyes shut. Bruce began searching with a gloved hand, while Dr. Cho cleaned out bits of debris.

“He got a lot of rubble in the wound when he fell, didn’t he?” asked Doctor Cho, using tweezers and forceps to remove the pebbles and other detritus. Peter swore under his breath and sweat was pouring off of his forehead as she said this, and Bucky had to increase the pressure to keep him down.

“Name and serial number,” stated Bucky, and Peter tried, saying his name and the beginning of his phone number, losing the end in a pained scream..

“Shhh, Peter, steady,” said Tony, keeping his face calm while tears welled up in his eyes, letting the boy's nails cut into his skin, not caring.

“I’m gonna check for skeletal damage,” stated Bruce, that being the scariest phrase Peter had ever heard. Dr. Banner used a retractor to search deep, making sure there was no damage to the clavicle. The bullet had hit it and lodged itself between the clavicle and the first rib. Bruce and Dr. Cho switched jobs, giving Peter a quick reprieve.

“Fuck, we’re gonna have to cut the rib to get it, search for bleeding, patch the area back up, and then close,” sighed Dr. Cho, shaking her head as she reached for a laser scalpel that she adjusted the settings on to cut through bone.

“No please don’t!” begged Peter, fighting hard against the men holding him down.

“Shhh, it’s okay Peter,” she started saying, not knowing how else to comfort the boy, when Loki materialized into the room.

“I have an idea,” he said, covering his eyes and startling everyone with his sudden presence. Despite the shock, everyone kept to their positions, determined to save their teammate.

“Peter, do you like music, and what kind?” asked Loki, calm as ever

“What?” the boy gasped out, at this point sure he had never felt worse pain in his life. His eyes were bloodshot and he was shaking all over.

“What are you doing?” demanded Tony, about to get up, but Peter held onto the inventor’s hand like a vice.

“I’ve been reading a lot about medication free pain management, in a book from Chinatown. Music helps,” he said this, and then turned his head up toward the ceiling. “JARVIS, play the star wars theme song on low volume. Please.”

The song sprang up immediately, not too loud to be distracting, and the doctors got back to work. Peter breathed deeply and tried to focus on the music, willing himself out of his body and letting the movie Star Wars take him away. It didn’t make the pain go away, but it did get him to stop screaming.

Dr. Cho managed to cut through the rib as cleanly as possible, and a quick search found only a little damage. Removing the bullet wasn’t as important as stopping the bleeding, but they managed both. Peter continued to breathe hard and squeezed Tony’s hand, and Thor and Bucky still had to keep him held down, but it still seemed easier with the music.

Tony kept his eyes on the boy the entire time, letting him swear and claw and whatever he needed.

“Fuck,” Peter gasped, as Bruce began to close.

“Almost done, Peter,” he said simply, ignoring the profanity.

“You’re doing great, Queens,” said Bucky, still feeling Peter straining against his hands slightly.

“You’ll have a warrior’s scars after this, boy. You should be proud of yourself,” stated Thor, having no trouble holding Peter’s legs still.

“Peter, when this is done, we’re gonna get you a new binder. Once you’ve recovered some, we’ll let Ned and MJ come over, watch a few movies…” Tony trailed off, glad to see Peter smiling somewhat. It was a pained smile, he was definitely wincing through it, but it was clear that Peter understood that Tony understood.

By the time they finished closing, the boy was more relaxed, and the two heroes with super strength were able to let go. On top of the bullet wound, he had a concussion from the fall and a bunch of scrapes and bruises from hitting the concrete, but it was easier removing the gravel from these, Loki sitting across from Peter and talking to him, keeping him focused.

“So this Princess Leia kisses her brother just to piss off the man she actually loves?” asked Loki, engaging with Peter on this piece of pop culture just to help him through this.

“Yeah, and it’s never even addressed again,” sighed Peter, wincing as more rubble was removed and the area was wiped with alcohol.

It took a long while, and by the end, Peter was exhausted from pain, and eventually fell asleep.  
Once Dr. Cho got him settled in a hospital bed in the infirmary, Stark went and made a few calls. He didn’t stray very far from Peter, however, hovering like a hawk, Loki remaining close as well

“He’s gonna be okay,” said Loki, looking down at the boy, who looked so small at that moment. _How old did he say he was, fifteen_?

“You knew,” said Tony, narrowing his eyes at Loki, not pleased.

“Mr Stark, I didn’t want to out him,” stated the trickster god, holding up his hands in self defense.

“You knew, and you didn’t tell me. I could have made things better for him. I could have gotten him chest surgery, the best endocrinologists, whatever he wanted,” he hissed, not wanting to wake Peter. “Well, what do you have to say for yourself?”

“I didn’t want to betray his trust,” said Loki, closing his eyes tight in pain. “He just wanted to be part of the team, be normal to you. Make you proud. He didn’t want you to feel the need to protect him more, or to be shoehorned into a token role. Just to be Peter, one of you, Spiderman. I don’t have many friends here, Stark. But I will not betray the ones I have.” And with that, Loki disappeared, leaving Tony alone with Peter.

Tony sat and watched him sleep, nodding off himself somewhat, and occasionally working on his Starkpad, wanting to make things right. He stayed with Peter all night, and woke up to Aunt May sitting next to him, holding Peter’s hand.

When Peter woke up, he was dizzy from the concussion, taking Bruce’s advice as he fussed over him and not sitting up right away.

“You’re alright, kid. Had us kinda worried for a sec, but you pulled through,” said Stark, before catching Aunt May’s eyes.

“Peter, you’re a good boy and you want to help others. I wish that you would wait, but I can’t stop you. Really, I am still allowing this to continue because I know that if I forbade you, you would just go behind my back and would probably get killed,” said Aunt May, kissing Peter’s forehead.

“Fair,” he muttered, trying hard to smile as more people came in to see him.

Dr. Cho. Steve. Natasha. Bucky brought him dog tags with AVENGER on it, and hot chocolate, ‘just like my ma used to make.’

Peter tried to joke with them, laugh, but an awkwardness seemed to stay in the air between them.

Finally, Peter couldn’t take it anymore, and had to ask, “where’s Loki.”

“She’s right here,” sighed the goddess, sauntering into the hospital ward with a delicate grace. She carried a bouquet of flowers, a teddy bear, and the next edition of some comic book that Peter had been dying to read.

She sat the gifts down and turned around to face the other Avengers, frowning slightly. “You live with the fact that sometimes, I’m Lady Loki Friggadottir. It’s a fact about me, and it isn’t a huge deal. If I can shape shift, then you can accept Peter, a trans man, assigned female at birth.” She said this with an authority of a royal, one not to be argued with.

Bucky and Steve just looked at each other and shrugged. “I don’t know what all those words mean, but as long as he wants to be Peter, he’s Peter,” said Steve, wrapping his arms around Bucky.

“Most planets don’t have such hang up about gender or bodies, unless they have extremely elaborate reproductive cycles that can’t be disrupted. Earth is one of the few planets lacking such that still maintains it’s taboos, and I'm sorry for this, Peter. You’re a great warrior, and you will have a warrior’s scar.” This speech made all laugh, even Aunt May, who was none too pleased, but still had to chuckle at how unselfconscious Thor could be.

“Kid, nothing’s changed between us, unless you need support. If you want top surgery, I’ve got it covered,” said Tony, showing Peter medical authorization forms he had been working on on his Starkpad. “But I also respect hard work and all that jazz, so if you want to scrape together the money yourself, I will just erase these forms and cancel all the consultation appointme”-”No, mine” said Peter weakly, trying his best to snatch the Starkpad out of Tony’s hands.

“Alright, kiddo, so we can probably get your surgery in the next four months, as a token of good faith now that you know we’re on your side. We good?” asked Tony, feeling awkward and running his mouth. The father thing was still scary to him, but the grin that Peter gave him when he turned his Starkpad to show him the paperwork was worth it.

Peter just nodded, exhausted from all the attention. But before anyone could leave, Loki stood up again, narrowing her gaze.

“Just remember, if any of you ever do anything to harm him, you will have me to answer to,” the threat came out as a growl, and even Thor seemed startled from how serious his sister sounded.

They stood there awkwardly, until Tony broke the tension. “Well, I’m off to fabricate a painkiller that can work on super metabolisms.” And with that they all left except for Aunt May and Loki, who sat down again next to the boy and grinned at him, glad to see that all would be well.

Loki’s time on earth would be a short sentence, in the grand scheme of things for one with as long a life as he. But he realized sitting there with this friend and new little brother who he hadn’t meant to become close to, that these might be some of the most important years in his life, and he would treasure them fondly.

**Author's Note:**

> Please review. To all those who have written about Peter as trans and getting hurt, I want to thank you and hope that my take here is original enough. If anyone wants me to change anything, please let me know.
> 
> Anyway, would love some feedback, since this is one of the first non-slash things I've written on here. I'm kinda a mess. Hope that you enjoy.
> 
> Thanks everyone.


End file.
